StockNews.com Upgrades Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) to “Buy”

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PKG opened at $210.72 on Wednesday. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $250.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $222.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.28.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total value of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,252,253.33. This trade represents a 20.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 65.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 18,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,028,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $356,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter worth $10,526,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

About Packaging Co. of America

Packaging Corporation of America engages in the production of container products. It operates through the following segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers a variety of corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers. The Paper segment manufactures and sells a range of papers, including communication-based papers, and pressure sensitive papers.